By Ethan Gilsdorf Globe Correspondent / April 3, 2011
Comic books came first, then Hollywood, bearing stories about humans, mutants, and others — Hulks, X-Men, Fantastic Four — who got irradiated or experimented upon, or landed on Earth from far-flung planets. As a result, the freaks can leap tall buildings, deflect bullets, shape-shift, and get mad.
New Orleans, LA - On many occasions this season, the New Orleans Hornets have carried leads into the fourth quarter only to lose games in the final stanza. Wednesday night at New Orleans Arena, the Hornets turned the tables on the opposition.
New Orleans outscored Portland 27-21 in the final period to post a huge 95-91 win over the Blazers before a disappointing but vocal crowd of 12,575.
We're all watching our family budgets these days. Whether shopping with coupons or looking for two-for-one deals, we're taking advantage of all sorts of offers and savings that help us stretch our dollars.
This column is dedicated to giving you five great local deals each week that will help your family's bottom line, and since we do the scouting for you, you can save time as well as money.
Cameron Diaz wants to co-star in a romantic comedy with her boyfriend Alex Rodriguez.
"The Green Hornet" actress' idea would feature, appropriately, a baseball player, a source close to her told Britain's Daily Express.
Diaz has been spending her spring in Tampa, watching Major League Baseball's highest-paid player and the New York Yankees train for their home opener Thursday.
Sixth Wunderland location fulfills founder’s dying wishes
Jeni McIntoch, second from left, brought her children Jamie, 4, and Aleah, 7, from their home in Selah, Wash., to the Wunderland arcade in Gresham for an afternoon of arcade games on Monday, March 28.
Imagine life without your flat-screen television, without cable, without surround sound.
Now imagine hearing voices through a box and imagining a face for those voices. What did Green Hornet look like? How about the Whistler? Can any movie come up with a scarier image than your own imagination?
Filming himself going to a Taqueria stand and putting hidden microphones under the seats to test the myth “Do women fart?” was enough to grab the attention of the executives on the Discovery Channel and land Tory Belleci the job as one of the co-hosts of the show MythBusters.
Belleci addressed fans of the show at Schaeffer Auditorium last Monday to promote the new season and share his experiences in the film industry.
From “Gangsta’s Paradise,” Coolio takes the Ramona Mainstage. The 47-year-old rapper broke from the mid-’90s L.A. rap scene with that Grammy-winning hit, which has appeared in too many movies to recount and as recently as this year’s floppy Green Hornet. Since then, Cool’s records have cooled, so he’s turned to “movie acting and such.” More recently, 16 hours ago he tweeted that he’s “Kicking it in Dubai for a few days get ready for a concert.” Dubai to Ramona. Huh.... Still up north, you’ve got She Wants Revenge at the Belly Up in Solana Beach. The “dark-dance” duo’s got a record due to drop next month called Valleyheart. They prefer dark dance to darkwave, just so you know.... Speaking of dark, Black Heart Procession will play an early set (doors @ 5p) at Casbah after their friends from Invisible Creature present some fresh prints and give a talk on the state of graphic design and stuff. First 200 peeps through the door get a free show poster, which is pretty cool. Check it: apr2evening.tumblr.com...and stick around the club afterward for some pop-rock courtesy of locals-only: Little Hurricane, Get Back Loretta, River City, and Low Volts.... ’Round town: the Shakedown serves up retro-rockers Phil Alvin (Blasters), Eddie Nichols (Royal Crown Revue), and Hands Down South (Chulo Veesta, baby)...Olympia, Washington goth-pop trio Broken Water pours it on (ew) Tin Can Ale House behind Oaktown art punks High Castle and our own dynamic duo the Dabbers...Skid Row sans Sebastian slides into 4th&B behind Sledd...and Soda Bar sets up Ohio-based indie folkies Southeast Engine with local faves the Donkeys and Little Fowl.
Comic book movie fans were once again given the unique opportunity to query the stars of director Matthew Vaughn 's X-Men: First Class through the "X-Perts" feature on the movie's official Facebook page . Previous Q&As have netted some revealing answers from producer Bryan Singer and from Nicholas Hoult , who plays Henry "Hank" McCoy, aka Beast. The latest "X-Perts" to answer fan questions are Rose Byrne and Oliver Platt , who play Dr. Moira MacTaggert and the mysterious Man in Black, respectively, in the highly anticipated prequel to the X-Men trilogy of movies.
Relaxed restrictions on bringing foreign films to the once-cloistered country have Chinese audiences seeing blockbusters, and American film producers seeing dollar signs.
It should come as no surprise that the eyes of the major companies all around the world are looking to international shores for the next big source of revenue. Whether it be Johnson & Johnson hawking Band-Aids in India, or Pizza Hut looking to open a new chain in Russia, the future of commerce is in the global market, a fact that has become obvious over the last two decades.
As far as Chinese martial arts cinema goes, Yuen Woo-ping is that dude. The man directed Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master —two films that brought Jackie Chan to stardom—in the late ‘70s, and has continuously blessed his fans with bangers throughout the ‘80s and mid ‘90s. His action choreography work for Fist of Legend (starring Jet Li ) caught the attention of the Wachowski brothers , who brought Yuen on board for the Matrix series. And for several years during the aughts, Yuen became the go-to action choreographer within Hollywood circles.
Wenn es einen Menschen auf der Welt gibt, der weiß, wie man anständige Actionszenen choreographiert, die die Zuschauer aus den Sitzen hauen, dann ist es Woo-ping Yuen. Als Choreograph ist er einer der wichtigsten des Martial Arts-Kinos und zeichnete für Erfolge wie Matrix, Tiger & Dragon, Kill Bill: Volume 1 und Kill Bill: Volume 2 verantwortlich. Als Regisseur sorgte er mit Die Schlange im Schatten des Adlers für den Durchbruch eines gewissen Jackie Chan und lieferte mit The Tai-Chi Master, Iron Monkey und anderen einige Klassiker ab.
Well, the wait is over. I've resurfaced.
Since my last cast for Excalibur, I reached my limit for uploading images on Photobucket, and if I wanted to upgrade to Pro to upload more, I'd have to pay. So, adding to the fact that I've got an X-Men reboot on the way where - get ready DDD - I'll cast Christian Kane as Wolverine, I decided to start over.
I had a chat with our Len Klady over the weekend and he wondered what spin would be put on the 1st Quarter box office this year.
I’m not even going to start defending the issue, aside to say for the millionth time, “it’s the movies, stupid.”
But here is what I would ask people who think something is afoot… why now?
VENERDI 1° APRILE ALLE ORE 20.30, nell’ambito della rassegna “ UNKNONW PLEASURES ” di Sentieri selvaggi, che racconta autori e capolavori contemporanei invisibili per la grande distribuzione, verrà presentato L’épine dans le coeur del cineasta francese Michel Gondry ( Se mi lasci ti cancello , L’arte del sogno , The Green Hornet ) presentato al 62° Festival di Cannes.
Your mileage may have varied on the first trailer for the Ryan Reynolds-led Green Lantern — not to be confused with The Green Hornet or the never-happening Deadpool movie — but one thing is inarguable: The thing looked. That suit! The sorta bad special effects! Peter Sarsgaard’s giant deformed head! As it turns out, Warner Bros. totally feels your perplexed pain.
Arthur Foulkes The Tribune-Star The Tribune Star Tue Mar 29, 2011, 09:27 AM EDT
TERRE HAUTE — Well-known film critic and newspaper columnist Richard Roeper polished off this season’s Indiana State University speakers series Monday night with a lot of laughs and demolishing of some “urban legends.”
A new trailer has just been released for True Legend, an upcoming film by influential director and fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. Yuen made his name as a director back in the ’70s with movies like Drunken Master, but has recently focused more on action choreography, for films including The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Kill Bill and Kung Fu Hustle. True Legend is his first directorial effort since 1996. As you might guess, it is a martial arts actioner.
One thing the 3D screen hasn't seen a lot of is swashbucklers, a shortage this summer's upcoming movie slate is going to start addressing. Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" was shot in 3D (or largely in 3D, some sequences may have been post-converted), and Summit Entertainment is loudly proclaiming that its remake of "The Three Musketeers" was shot in 3D.
Monday, Mar 28, 2011 13:29 ET What would Sylvia think of Scott Adams?
What to make of Dilbert creator's comments about women and their, um, limitations?
After the Internet blew up trying to get around "Dilbert" creator Scott Adam's peculiar post about the Men's Rights movement (which he took down, but later defended), we reached out to one of our favorite cartoonists, Nicole Hollander, of "Sylvia" fame. She replied with a note to Adams himself, and a few pertinent strips from the Sylvia archives. (You can read Adams' deleted post here .)
Swego czasu wyświetlana była w kinach niedoceniona ekranizacja komiksu pod tytułem "Kick-Ass". Bohater tamtego filmu mógłby bez problemu podać rękę Zielonemu Szerszeniowi.
Centralną postacią najnowszego filmu Michela Gondry`ego jest Brit Reid (Seth Rogen), syn bogatego właściciela gazety "The Daily Sentinel". Poznajemy go w scenie, która mówi wszystko o jego związku z ojcem - Britt jest nierozumiany i karcony przez surowego rodziciela. Mija dwadzieścia lat. Los Angeles zalewa fala przestępstw, Brit wyrósł na nieodpowiedzialnego balangowicza, a jego ojciec nagle umiera. Co zrobić może dziedzic medialnego tronu, niepoprawny marzyciel i duże dziecko...? Niejako w spadku po znienawidzonym ojcu, Brit "dostaje" wiernego sługę (a z czasem także przyjaciela), Kato (Jay Chou). Jest on nie tylko genialnym inżynierem, mechanikiem, mistrzem sztuk walki i rysownikiem... to kompletne zaprzeczenie Brita. I choć ten pierwszy ma talent tylko do pakowania się w kłopoty, to może liczyć na niezwykłe umiejętności swego pomocnika. Mając do dyspozycji ogromne środki finansowe i przyjaciela, Brit wpada na pomysł, by spełnić najśmielsze marzenie każdego chłopca - zostać najprawdziwszym superbohaterem.
Further to my piece on music last week, let me tell you what else I’m listening to. I’ve long been a follower of AM radio; as a writer, nothing brings me closer to what’s really on people’s minds than radio commentators and their phone-in listeners. Granted, much of what’s out there is highly opinionated if not bigoted blather, but that comes with the territory. I usually switch to something else after five minutes of this toxic dose, and that something else could be a legal or medical advice program from which I can actually learn something.
Sarah Palin is escorted by Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz (left) and Israeli lawmaker Danny Danon (right) as she leaves the Western Wall tunnels in Jerusalem's Old City March 20, 2011.
Sarah Palin's trip to Israel this week, which included a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, didn't get much media attention amid a heavy news week. One of the more interesting moments of the trip came when, on Monday, Palin and her entourage attempted to go to Bethlehem, the city where Jesus was born.
It may not be as well known as San Diego Comic-Con, its Southern California counterpart, but the San Francisco WonderCon is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year as one of the country's best comics and popular arts events. On the fence about attending? Here's a rundown of what genre fans can look forward to at the show.
Warren Beatty, who produced and starred in a big-budget feature film adaptation of the Chicago Tribune's Dick Tracy comic strip, won a legal victory today when a judge ruled that he still retained the movie/tv rights to the character.
Beatty, who acquired tv/movie rights from Tribune Media Services in 1985 and then produced the big-budget 1990 movie version,filed suit in Los Angeles federal court in 2008 after TMS claimed those rights had reverted back to them. TMS argued that Beatty was required to produce another Tracy television or movie project to retain the rights before a use-it-or-lose-it deadline TMS had established in 2006. Beatty countered that, after his request to extend the rights to 2013 was denied, he had begun work on a Dick Tracy special for Turner Classic Movies before the deadline. (The special, a retrospective about Dick Tracy's various media incarnations, hosted by Beatty and noted film historian Leonard Maltin, was produced and scheduled for broadcast on TCM in July 2009, but never aired.)
Paul is an comedy that involves two British comic book enthusiast that go to Comic Con, then on a trip to all of America’s UFO hot spots like area 51.
They encounter a Paul, an alien who is on a road trip back to his mother ship after being here for 60 years on a top secret military base.
He is being chased by federal agents and runs into the two comic sci-fi geeks traveling in an RV. They are later joined by a girl who’s been living a sheltered life and chased by a fanatical father with a shot gun.
Ogni giovedì, con la nostra rubrica Spot d’autore, quando il cinema invade la tv, vi guidiamo attraverso le pubblicità più famose degli ultimi anni raccontandovi curiosità e aneddoti e facendovi fare anche qualche tuffo nel passato che non mancherà di sorprendervi…
Questa settimana vi raccontiamo una delle “saghe pubblicitarie” più famose degli ultimi anni, ma anche una delle più “fascinose”, grazie al suo protagonista, stiamo parlando degli spot Nespresso.
A publicity still from the film 'The Tourist,' starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp.
By and large, the big Hollywood film studios have clung to the idea that digital downloads should be priced the same as DVDs. Sony Pictures is trying to find out if there's a better way.
On Tuesday, Sony began selling downloads of two new releases for about 13 percent less than the $15 DVD price. At Amazon.com and iTunes, "The Tourist" and "How Do You Know" could be downloaded for $12.99. Elsewhere at Amazon, the disc sold for $15. Both movies were disappointments at the box office, so the reductions seem barely to qualify as a toe dip into price cutting.
Das japanische Unternehmen Sony hat sich auf dem offiziellen US-amerikanischen PlayStation Blog zum kommenden 3D Line-Up für die Spielkonsole PlayStation 3 geäußert. Dementsprechend ist bis zum Ende des Jahres mit rund 30 Titeln zu rechnen.
Hierzu zählen beispielsweise Spiele-Blockbuster wie „Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception”, “MotorStorm: Apocalypse”, “MLB 11: The Show”, “SOCOM 4: Special Forces” und noch einige weitere. In diesem Zusammenhang berichtete Sony auch, dass sich die Verbraucher die Demo von „Killzone 3“ zu 20 Prozent als 3D-Version gesichert hätten und dass das „Illustrated Swimsuit 2011“ in 3D innerhalb von nur einer Woche stolze 83.000 Mal heruntergeladen worden ist.
The Batmobile, created by George Barris, who calls himself the "King of the Kustomizers." He's behind innumerable TV and movie cars, including the "Back to the Future" DeLorean, "The A Team" van and KITT Trans Am. Photographer: Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg
3-D film is a movie or motion picture that gives the illusion of having a depth of field.
Are films better because of that luxury? The key word in that question is that 3-D film is a luxury. It serves no major purpose in the film industry than to make money.
A Real D 3-D film after 6 p.m. is $14.75 and an IMAX 3-D film is $16.75 at Rave Motion Pictures in Manchester, Conn.
You probably didn't notice, but last Saturday was a watershed date in the global cinema industry, one that in future years could be as significant a landmark as, say, the "big bang" on the London stock exhange: 19 March 2011 was the deadline given by the World Trade Organisation when it demanded China end its 20-foreign-films-a-year quota, and open its cinemas to outside product. Dollar signs are lighting up in the eyes of movie producers across the globe.
Das Jahr ist schon zu einem Viertel rum, doch die großen Blockbuster werden erst noch die Kinosäle zum Vibrieren bringen. Die Spezies der Mammutproduktionen macht schon seit geraumer Zeit mit Trailern und News auf sich aufmerksam, ehe sie dann starten und Millionen von Menschen in die Kinos locken wird. Obwohl sie natürlich alle jeweils für sich selbst stehen, haben die kommenden Blockbuster des Jahres 2011 doch alle etwas gemeinsam: Sie sind laut, bildgewaltig und werden von ihrem Filmverleihern riesig aufgezogen – denn von ihren teuer produzierten Sprösslingen erwarten die Macher nicht weniger als den absoluten Erfolg. Im Folgenden geben wir euch eine Ãœbersicht über die zehn Blockbuster, die demnächst auf uns zukommen.
(PG-13) The trailers do nothing for the cut of this latest Philip K. Dick adaptation. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt play star-crossed lovers, David and Elise, being kept apart by the Adjustment Bureau, who resemble a team of Mad Men in suits and hats (one is even played by “Mad Men”’s silver-haired, silver-tongued John Slattery). These angels as pencil pushers and bureaucrats make sure The Plan, as envisioned by The Chairman (one of many names for the man upstairs), is adhered to. The love affair between David and Elise is not part of the plan, and the Bureau will stop at nothing, even sending in their heavy hitter (Terence Stamp), to ensure the couple does not end up together. Writer-director George Nolfi meshes romance and sci-fi with more coolly intricate success than you would suspect. Damon and Blunt generate surprisingly easy chemistry, and the men in hats idea works well thanks to Slattery, Stamp and The Hurt Locker ’s undervalued Anthony Mackie. A new score from Thomas Newman and gorgeous urban cinematography from Oscar winner John Toll merely ice this romantic cake. The Adjustment Bureau is one of the better films of young 2011. AFGHAN STAR (NR) 2009. This intriguing documentary looks at how contestants on Afghanistan’s version of the UK’s “Pop Idol” risk their lives to compete for musical stardom. Director Havana Marking’s film won the Audience Award and the Directing Award from the Sundance Film Festival, where her film was also nominated for the coveted Grand Jury Prize. Part of the Amnesty International Human Rights Film Festival, sponsored by Amnesty International at UGA in connection with the organization’s state conference. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES (PG-13) I still don’t quite get how Battle: Los Angeles was inspired by true events. In February 1942, over 1,400 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition were unleashed over the skies of L.A., at what was thought to be Japanese aircraft. This real-life event somehow led to this science fiction/war movie about the battle fought over Los Angeles during an alien invasion. A group of mixed military personnel (led by Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez and Ne-Yo) try to get back to the FOB (Forward Operating Base) before bombs are dropped that will hopefully wipe out the invading extraterrestrials. Many of the supporting military cast die, mowed down during shaky cam gunfights with aliens inspired by District 9. Battle: LA offers nothing new to either the war or science fiction genres it mashes together, but the action movie manages to engage for its near-two-hour running time without being particularly interesting or entertaining. Strangely, this needlessly cacophonous, visually unintelligible movie is better during its quiet, still moments as opposed to its textbook sacrifices and acts of cowboy bravado. BEASTLY (PG-13) A literal modern day fairy tale, Beastly stars I Am Number Four ’s Alex Pettyfer (how did this guy escape The CW for the big screen?) as vain, misunderstood, rich boy, Kyle. When Kyle runs afoul of a witch (Mary-Kate Olsen) at his ridiculously posh private high school, she turns him into a hideously scarred and tattooed “monster” with a year to find someone who’ll love him. Of course, he chooses scholarship girl with a drug addict dad, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens). The unforgivably unlikely setup for this limp take on Beauty and the Beast requires Lindy to be sequestered in Kyle’s hideaway due to a threat against her life. Beastly is all pretty much bland teen romance and drama, from which Neil Patrick Harris occasionally rescues us, that would have made a smashing CW TV movie. My favorite scene comes at the conclusion when Hudgens has to make the critical decision about how to play a supposedly deep teenage girl who has just won the romantic lottery; the monster she fell in love with is really the prettiest, richest boy at school. Her acting skills don’t do much to save Lindy’s too-easily-earned rep for substance over style. THE BIG UNEASY (NR) This documentary goes deep into the causes of the Katrina flooding and includes interviews with several major whistleblowers, who collectively point out that the hurricane's destruction was a result of shoddy work by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
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I think 3D is hilarious. It’s cute, really. I take my little ones to the theater and they enjoy putting the glasses on, jumping from left to right when it seems that the thing on the screen will jump right out and snatch them up. It’s a generally fun experience, a terrific diversion, but then we take the glasses off and return to our normal optical experience until our next trip to the theater.
Despite it being still near-omnipresent on TV, 20 years since its release, the powers-that-be have deemed that it’s time to remake “ Total Recall ,” the sci-fi thriller that proved a hit for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Paul Verhoeven all that time ago. “ The Adjustment Bureau ” has proven that pictures based on Philip K. Dick ‘s work can still be viable at the box office (both the original and the remake are based on the sci-fi writer’s story “ We Can Remember It For You Wholesale ”). And Sony , in their infinite wisdom, have put the new version in the hands of D-movie king Neal Moritz (” The Green Hornet ,” “ The Fast and the Furious ,”), “ Salt” scribe Kurt Wimmer, and “ Underworld ” and “ Live Free and Die Hard ” director Len Wiseman .
Los Leute, ihr habt es in der Hand, wer bei den MTV Movie Awards 2011 ganz groß abräumt oder als Verlierer des Abends nur mit einem feuchten Händedruck nach Hause fährt.
Heute (22. März) hat das Voting für die Preisverleihung begonnen. IHR könnt beim Vor-Voting entscheiden, welche eurer Lieblinge letztendlich auf der Nominierungsliste landen.
by Matt Goldberg Posted:March 22nd, 2011 at 1:51 pm
We have some quick casting stories for you this afternoon. First up, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges has joined Garry Marshall’s upcoming romantic comedy New Year’s Eve . The ever-expanding cast already includes (deep breath) Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher, Halle Berry, Jessical Biel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sarah Jessica Parker, Hilary Swank, Zac Efron, Sienna Miller, Lea Michelle, Sofia Vergara, Abigail Breslin, Til Schweiger, Seth Meyes, Jon Bon Jovi, Josh Duhamel, and Carla Gugino. So where does Bridges fit into this collection of actors getting paid for what probably amounts to a few days work in under-developed storylines about people falling in and out of love on New Year’s Eve? According to THR , Bridges will play “a NYPD cop who is working with the director of the Times Square festivities (Swank).”
has been named the Female Star of the Year by CinemaCon.
The ‘Green Hornet’ actress will pick up the prize at Ceasers Palace in Las Vegas on March 30 and CinemaCon chief Mitch Neuhauser claimed she was an “unparalleled” screen star.
He said in a statement: “Since making her debut on the big screen in ‘The Mask’, Cameron Diaz has continued to capture the attention of audiences around the world with her inescapable charm, innate comedic timing, and unparalleled screen presence.
The full three-day schedule for April's premiere convention reveals movie sneak peeks, comic panels, gaming news and much more.
12:30-1:30 Nerds! The Secret Origins of Game Designers— Comics. Movies. Games. Did you know that a life of fandom might be perfect training for a career as a video game designer? Learn the secret origins of industry veterans Haden Blackman (Star Wars: the Force Unleashed 1 & 2, Batwoman), Tim Longo (Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Star Wars: Dark Forces), Jason Weesner (Tomb Raider: Legend, Vectorman), and Scott Rogers (God of War, Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design) as they share how their love for all things nerdy led to successful careers in video games...and how you can start your own career too! Room 104
Programming for this year’s WonderCon has been announced. This will be my first year attending WonderCon and Steve has informed me that it’s like Comic-Con except you can breathe. While WonderCon may be the less-famous sibling to Comic-Con, it still has some big-name panels for fans. This year, WonderCon is giving over the Esplanade Ballroom to some of the year’s biggest genre properties. Leading the list of films is Warner Bros’ Green Lantern as well as Cowboys & Aliens, Super, The Three Musketeers, Hanna, Priest, and Immortals. TV is also getting some attention with panels devoted to the new series Falling Skies, ThunderCats, and Terra Nova as well as Nikita, Doctor Who, Human Target, and V. There will also be plenty of artists, writers, and other creative folks.
The ten most famous Jewish actors have appeared in numerous roles, collectively covering a wide range of movie genres. Some of these actors are veterans to the big screen, while others are still working their way into the cinema history books. Adam Sandler. Sandler is a comedian both on stage and on screen. This famous Jewish actor starred in numerous comedies, such as "Big Daddy" and "Mr. Deeds." His talents also extend to writing. Shia LaBeouf. Famous mostly for his role as the leading man in the "Transformers" movies, LaBeouf is a young actor with Jewish and Cajun blood. In "Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," he starred alongside Harrison Ford. Daniel Radcliffe. This Jewish actor is famous for playing the lightning bolt branded hero of the "Harry Potter" series. If the accent isn't enough to tip you off, he hails from England. Jonah Hill. This comedic actor appeared in films such as "Get Him to the Greek" and "Superbad." In addition to starring in the live-action films ,Hill performed vocal work for "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Megamind." Seth Rogen. Rogen is another comedic actor with a Jewish heritage. If you want to see Rogen in action, "Pineapple Express," "Knocked Up" and "The Green Hornet" are a few movies to check out. Jack Black. Before he reached the big screen, Black appeared in small roles on television series. Now you can hear this Jewish actor rock out in "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny" and "School of Rock. Mel Brooks. Brooks served as director and writer for many popular comedy films, including: "Blazing Saddles," "Space Balls" and "Young Frankenstein." However, he's not just a behind the scenes force. Brooks also appears as an actor on occasion. Woody Allen . In addition to being a Jewish actor, Allen is also a well-known writer and director. "Match Point" and "Small Time Crooks" are just some examples of his many works. Dustin Hoffman . Hoffman received much praise for successfully taking on the role of the autistic character Raymond in "Rain man." He also won an Oscar for Best Actor for his leading role in "Kramer vs. Kramer." Jeff Goldblum. Most movie-watchers will recognize this Jewish actor from the 1993 film "Jurassic Park." However, he has appeared in many other well-known films, such as "Independence Day."
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From cassette tapes to iPods, PCs to Macbooks, DVDs to Blu-ray discs, technology seems to evolve as frequently as Lady Gaga changes her wardrobe.
Our tech-savvy American culture has a powerful attachment to the products and innovations that emerge as our collective mind seeks to discover more efficient ways of living and experiencing.
Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page star in this "Juno"-meets-"Kickass" hipster flick. Where's Batman when you need him?
Looking at the trailer for "Super," you might be confused into thinking you were watching Diablo Cody's attempt at an action movie. After all, she's already tackled the indie family flick ("Juno") and the indie horror flick ("Jennifer's Body), so an indie vigilante film featuring a lot of primary colors and sassy one-liners would fit into the Academy Award winner's oeuvre. But you'd be wrong.
MANILA, Philippines -- Columbia Pictures’ sci-fi action-thriller “World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles” colonized the Philippine box-office, claiming the No. 1 spot with a nationwide gross of a staggering P17.57-million for the five-day March 16 to 20 frame.
This was announced on March 21 by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., the film’s local distributor.
Two films that fared poorly at the domestic box office are finding success overseas.
"The Tourist," starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp," and the 3-D "Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader," the third film based on a popular series of children's novels, both passed major box-office milestones abroad this weekend. "The Tourist" surpassed the $200-million mark, while "Dawn Treader" exceeded $300 million.
No buzzes are necessary for this movie. Seth Rogan is back in his second 3D movie “The Green Hornet.” Based on the original radio, film, and television show, “The Green Hornet” also stars Jay Chou, and Rogen’s former co-stars James Franco and Cameron Diaz.
Britt Reid (Rogen) is the party loving son of a wealthy and mean newspaper publisher (Tom Wilkinson).When his dad dies of a bee sting, Britt meets his coffee maker Kato (Chou), who he starts to hang out with. After cutting off the head of his father’s statue for his “meanness,” Britt and Kato notice a robbery going on. After a spectacular 3D fight, Britt and Kato decide to become heroes. But they decide they would pose as villains to get close to the criminals. The main villain is Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz, “Inglorious Basterds”), who after being insulted by a drug dealer (Franco) hurts anyone who insults him. He still plans to get rid of the “Green Hornet,” Britt’s new identity.
A candidate forum sponsored by the Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 PTO groups addressed reports made in the media that all four candidates running for the School Board believed creationism should be taught in science classrooms.
The candidates were quick to dispel the reports at the March 3 forum stating they misunderstood the question asked during candidate interviews and responses were taken out of context. Political newcomer Chris Wallace, while not backing down from his opinion, went so far as to say he felt the candidates were being used as pawns by the news outlet which first ran the story.
Bees under bombardment: new report shows multiple factors behind pollinator losses
10 March 2011 The potentially disastrous decline in bees, a vital pollinating element in food production for the growing global population, is likely to continue unless humans profoundly change their ways, from the use of insecticides to air pollution, according to a United Nations report released today.
TVS Action.Net, the free Internet TV channel includes more than 60 classic action TV series from the past 60 plus years of commercial television.
Henderson, NV, March 11, 2011 --( PR.com )-- TV4U.Com, the 48 channel IPTV network, has launched TVS Action.Net as it’s action oriented IPTV channel. TVS Action.Net is one of 33 "micro channels" being offered by the TVS Television Network on the TV4U.Com video portal. TVS Action.Net provides more than 60 classic TV series on an advertising supported free internet television basis.
There is nothing that gets a crowd up out of its seats more than a spectacular dunk. There is no clutch three pointer, reverse layup, or half court shot that will excite a stadium, and the viewing audience at home, more than a bad-ass dunk.
It can happen anywhere. Anytime. There is nothing like it and whether it comes from the least likely of players, or the guys you've come to expect it from, it's always an event. Hey, there's a reason they still have the dunk contest.
That Rango (voiced by Johnny Depp) is a prickly fellow. He becomes sherriff of the town of Dirt in "Rango." Industrial Light & Magic
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How is a censored version of the trailer better than the uncensored one?
Yahoo! Movies has the censored trailer version for the upcoming comedy “Bad Teacher.”
The film stars Cameron Diaz (“The Green Hornet,” “Knight and Day”), Justin Timberlake (“Yogi Bear,” “The Social Network”), Jason Segel (“I Love You, Man,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) and Lucy Punch (“Take Me Home Tonight,” “Elektra Luxx”).
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff accused the government of "low-balling" taxpayers Thursday about the true cost to buy 65 new F-35 fighter jets, as a new report suggested that the final price tag could be double the initial estimates.
Ignatieff said in Parliament that the estimated $30-billion bill for the jets represents "$1,000 for every Canadian man, woman and child."
Someone in Oregon has the sweetest ride around. Carl’s Jr.® and Hardee’s®, announced today that Jonathon Hanington of Tualatin, Ore., officially won Black Beauty, one of the fully loaded prop cars from the Columbia Pictures movie “The Green Hornet.” The car, offered as the grand prize in the fast food chains’ “The Key to Black Beauty” instant win game and sweepstakes, was delivered to Hanington on Friday, March 4, at the Carl’s Jr. located in his hometown of Tualatin, Ore. Hanington, a 27-year-old full-time student and Army reservist, received the keys from Happy Star, the iconic mascot of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. Hanington was joined by nearly 50 friends and family members to check out his sweet new ride and enjoy dinner at the restaurant, along with Carl’s Jr. franchise owners Dan Gjurgevich and Joe Karcher.
Tualatin’s Jonathon Hanington (middle) won the car from “The Green Hornet” as part of Carl’s Jr.’s “Keys to the Back Beauty” sweepstakes. Carl’s Jr. General Manager Rose Greg (left) and restaurant owner Dan Gjurgevich (right) presented the car to Hanington.
In that sleeping position—it looks very uncomfortable.
Just Jared has the first poster for the upcoming comedy “Bad Teacher.”
The film stars Cameron Diaz (“The Green Hornet,” “Knight and Day”), Justin Timberlake (“Yogi Bear,” “The Social Network”), Jason Segel (“I Love You, Man,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) and Lucy Punch (“Take Me Home Tonight,” “Elektra Luxx”).
Posted by Jamie Neish on March 9, 2011 · View Comments
Sony Pictures have unveiled the first official poster for R-rated comedy Bad Teacher.
Directed by Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), Bad Teacher stars Cameron Diaz (The Green Hornet), Justin Timberlake ( The Social Network ), Jason Segal (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Lucy Punch (Take Me Home Tonight).
which kicks off Thursday, March 10, at UltraStar Mission Valley. As always, they have plenty of ticket options, films from a multitude of nations, parties, celebrities and programs like Tu Cine! Student Outreach Screenings, the Jewish Latino Film Showcase, Cine Gay, and two new programs—Documania and Latinos at the Oscars. There’s so much cinema that it’s almost overwhelming, so allow me to shine a spotlight on a documentary shot not too far from home:
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Maybe because I grew up as a kid in the late Forties and Fifties, I was not too late for movie serials. My dad used to take me to Saturday matinees when I was young, and I remember loving to follow the continued adventures of Chandu the Magician (in "The Return of Chandu") and Commando Cody (in the TV show's original theatrical-serial showing). So it's no wonder I'm more than a little nostalgic for "Flash Gordon," "Buck Rogers," "The Green Hornet," and other such serials that VCI Entertainment seem to be among the last companies to distribute. In the present disc, we have the 1945 serialized version of the famous "Brenda Starr" comic-strip character, a heroine we would later see in two more, much-inferior, non-serial movies.
When he’s not making movies, he’s making albums, when he’s not doing that he’s directing music videos. In this week’s Savage Animal, Mikey MiGo takes a look at the videography of Rob Zombie.
I'll start by saying that I'm not against superhero movies or comic book movies or "graphic novels" for those who are kidding themselves. I have fond memories of the old Batmans, of course I love the newer Nolan Batmans, Spiderman were okay, the old Supermans were okay, Ironman was fun, and there have been a few others that I didn't have too many problems sitting through. My problem is that I think the superhero tap is drying out. I know there are PLENTY of comic book characters that haven't seen screen time yet. No thanks. There is a reason some characters are not a movie, cartoon, or television characters. I think I enjoy Superman more in print and Batman more on screen. I never read Iron Man at all and other than some X-Men and some Spawn my comic book knowledge is pretty small. And sadly, I'd be that I'm probably above average when it comes to what I know about this artistic hobby. It's just not my cup of tea. It's a niche' market. Because Batman, Ironman, and a couple superhero offshoots were popular it doesn't automatically mean anything with a mask or cape will succeed. Now we have Batman, Spiderman, Superman, Ironman, Green Hornet, Green Lantern, Thor, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Nick Fury, Kick Ass, The Hulk, like a dozen established X-Men characters, and stuff about Wonder Woman, Antman, The Flash, and a plethora of others. Enough is enough. There needs to be a two superhero movie a year limit agreed upon by Marvel, DC, and whoever else puts these things out there. Hell, a three movie limit would be cool with me too. That would still be a huge difference than the fourteen point nine billion superhero movies currently released or soon to be released. The problem is that all of these bad ones dilute the hell out of the market. Once someone sees a good one, they end up seeing like 3 bad ones and then they don't want to give a good one a chance. The awe and uniqueness of a really good A-List superhero is drained little by little with each C-Lister. The kids who really like it will go towards the comics and be fans for life, but I think this will do more harm than good come the next generation of comics. All of this stuff works in cycles, it'll get popular again, but the next downtime is going to be barren as hell for shops, companies, and artists. It's similar to how professional wrestling works. Or hell, we can put it in many terms. It would have been like seeing Michael Jordon, Magic, and Bird in commercials and then start seeing David Robinson and Clyde Drexler in commercials. Before you know it Kendall Gill is in a 7-11 commercial trying to sell beef jerky. If you enjoyed NBA basketball in the early 90's then that reference was hilarious. If you didn't get the joke then now you know exactly how everyone who didn't subscribe to Wizard World feels about all these superhero movies. I like Stan Lee as much as the next person, but do we have to give him so much money that he can afford the same technology as his characters?
Nathan Drake is surrounded by flame, it pops and sputters, licking out of the television toward me.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception should be the winning argument for gaming in 3D. It is spectacular. In the moments of gameplay we watch while crowded in a second-floor meeting room at San Francisco’s posh W Hotel, that extra visual dimension is put to good use. Holes in the wall of the conflating building drop away from the screen, showing distant enemies. The burning beams upon which Drake balances show a path deep into the room. When Drake momentarily loses his balance and his view sinks toward the fall, the room offers a nearly vertigo-inducing view of that drop.
. Diaz is Elizabeth Halsey, the foul-mouthed, badly behaved and money hungry junior high teacher who finds she has a rival in the form of well-loved teacher Amy Squirrell (Lucy Punch). When rich, new substitute teacher, Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake) starts at the school, he confides he has a crush on the sweet-antured Squirrel. But gold-digger Elizabeth hatches a plan to get his attention. When she finds out Scott's previous girlfriend was very well-endowed in the boob department, Elizabeth decides to raise money to get breast implants. On finding out that the teacher whose class has the highest average gets an extra bonus, Elizabeth cracks down on her class intending to use the bonus as part of her implant fund. Her biggest competitor is (of course) Amy.
Columbia Pictures has just announced that they have extended their first look deal with producer Neal H. Moritz, responsible for recent films like The Green Hornet and the upcoming Battle: Los Angeles and Fast Five . The full press statement is as follows:
Neal H. Moritz, founder of Original Film and producer of such high-profile forthcoming motion pictures as Battle: Los Angeles and Fast Five, has extended his first-look development and production pact with Columbia Pictures for three more years, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures. The extension of Moritz’s deal comes 18 months before his current deal was set to expire and continues a successful partnership and collaboration with Sony, the studio that has been his home since he produced I Know What You Did Last Summer in 1997.
"Rango" comes in second followed by "Black Swan" in third as last week's champ "I Am Number Four" falls, appropriately enough, into the No. 4 position.
UPDATE: Fresh from its best picture Oscar win, The King's Speech scored its first No. 1 box office victory on the foreign theatrical circuit as the historical drama's full weekend take disclosed Monday came to $19.4 million from 3,593 screens in 48 markets.
Greetings and welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly guide to the weekend's new movies. Tune in every Tuesday for the latest look at the upcoming weekend, and then check back on Thursday night for final projections based on actual theatre counts.
If you aren't doing so already, you can follow The Weekend Warrior on Twitter where he talks about box office, movies, music, comic books and all sorts of random things.
I'm pretty happy with how that column turned out, and that essay is now part of a larger collection of pieces on Warren Ellis and "Planetary." You can find it soon in "Keeping the World Strange: A Planetary Guide," which should be available to order from your local comic shop -- I believe it's in Diamond Previews this month.
Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), son and heir to Los Angeles' largest newspaper fortune, is a rich, spoiled playboy who has been happy to maintain a direction-less existence. When his father James Reid (Tom Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, Britt meets an impressive and resourceful company employee, Kato (Jay Chou). They realize that they have the resources to do something worthwhile with their lives and finally step out of James Reid's shadow. Kato builds the ultimate weapon, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car with every weapon and gadget imaginable and Britt decides that in order to be heroes, they will pose as villains. With the help of Britt's new secretary, Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), they learn that the chief criminal in the city is named Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). He has united all the gangs under his power, and he quickly sees that the Green Hornet is a direct threat to the prosperous criminal underworld he controls.
One day after an emotional win over the Miami Heat, the Bulls defeated the New Orleans Hornets 85-77, winning their ninth-straight at home and improving to 27-4 at the United Center.
Derrick Rose scored 24 points and handed out nine assists and Carlos Boozer finished with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds.
NetherRealm Studios’ Mortal Kombat smashes its way into stores on April 19, 2011 in North America (April 21st in the UK), and judging from the new trailer provided by Joystiq , it’s going to pack a definite punch, as well as get everyone primed for the upcoming “live-action digital new media series.”
As bad as G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was, it’s starting to look like the sequel could be a lot worse. Rachel Nichols recently used her verified Twitter account to share some disheartening news:
“GI JOE 2 News Flash: The only characters to return in the JON CHU directed sequel will be SNAKE EYES, STORM SHADOW, and DUKE…”
At the Movies with Monica Petrucci from Tinsel Town
“Rango” takes Domestic weekend Box Office with US$38M
Johnny Depp’s Movie is the Top non-Holiday weekend. “Adjustment Bureau” # 2 with a solid US$20.9M
Boosted by a Great Saturday, Paramount’s quirky cartoon Rango, voiced by Johnny Depp, opened to an estimated US$38M from 3,917 theaters to score the Top opening of Y 2011 for a non-Holiday weekend.
We knew Number Six couldn’t be too far behind when Baltar is around, right? Last week, when I shared the news that James Callis had been tapped for a role in Ron Moore’s new NBC pilot, 17th Precinct , I asked if anyone had gotten in touch with Tricia Helfer. TVLine brings word that apparently someone did. Helfer was actually already in talks and she joined up practically on the heels of Callis hopping on-board.
" making its premiere in the first few weeks of 2011 and impressing the heck out of us here at Splash Page HQ.
I'll admit to being a bit skeptical of Michel Gondry's take on the classic pulp hero as played by funnyman Seth Rogen, but between Gondry's unique camera work, Rogen's spin on the character, and the awesome work of Jay Chou as Kato, I was a believer when the end credits began to roll. And now we have all the information on the "Green Hornet" DVD and Blu-Ray — just in case you're looking to add the film to your collection, too.
Canadians haven't generally registered that high on the list of the world's most rich and famous, but in recent years, more of them have started making their mark.
Here's a look at some of those in the new crop of rich and powerful Canadians, who they are, where their money came from and how they are making waves around the world.
A generally anemic year so far on the foreign theatrical circuit continued on the weekend as Paramount's much-anticipated Rango scored a No. 1 opening at the overseas box office but with a less-than-lofty gross of $16.5 million drawn from 3,815 screens in 33 markets.
No first-place box office title this year has logged an opening weekend gross of more than $27 million overseas. As a result, foreign box office for the six American majors through February collectively dipped 31% from 2010 (when Avatar was roaring through its offshore release).
Week 9 marks the end of the term for the York Student Cinema but this is going to be an interesting week in terms of film. With a mixture, including this year’s Best Picture winner The King's Speech , Mexican Cannibals in acclaimed horror We Are What We Are and explosive superhero action in The Green Hornet .
The Silver Bullet and the Silver Shield has started to cause some waves out there. This massive article covers all of the reasons why you should sell every asset you have right now and buy silver. It has been named “Article of the Week” at Silver Bear Cafe . It started a minor skirmish between 321Gold and me . It has even been translated into 6 languages in less than a week. The most important thing I personally got from the article was a call I got from a friend that I have literally been begging to buy silver for 6 years. He read the article and simply said, “I get it now.”
The film series provides free movie showings and popcorn to undergraduate students. Look online at sa.buffalo.edu for a schedule of upcoming movies, including The King’s Speech and Little Fockers.
Right now, a movie ticket at the Walden Galleria costs $10, and a small popcorn with a small drink costs $10.75. That's about $20 for one movie. But in the UB Student Union, students can see all the latest movies without paying for a single kernel.
SETH Rogen needs his "fat clothes" back after putting on the weight he lost to play a super hero.
The comedy actor lost considerable bulk to play the titular character in comic-book adaptation movie 'The Green Hornet', but admitted since finishing the shoot he has ceased his tough exercise regime and wishes he hadn't given away his old clothes.
Jim Shelton, Register Staff, Jshelton@nhregister.com, Writer Published 12:10 p.m., Saturday, March 5, 2011
Labor of love - Seven years after her passing, Tony Esposito of North Branford says he knows his wife even better now (video)
Labor of love - Seven years after her passing, Tony Esposito of North Branford says he knows his wife even better now (video) There is no aspect of her in which he’s not an expert: childhood, career, hobbies, habits. “Every time he finds something new, he copies it, organizes it and...
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Q. In the 1950s, I saw a black-and-white movie about a young boy, about 12, who was a Boy Scout. He and the scoutmaster were out hiking and a rainstorm came after they had gone to sleep. The scoutmaster was washed over a hill and caught in some brush while in his sleeping bag, and the boy had to go for help. That movie scene still haunts me.
SETH Rogen needs his "fat clothes" back after putting on the weight he lost to play a super hero.
The comedy actor lost considerable bulk to play the titular character in comic-book adaptation movie 'The Green Hornet', but admitted since finishing the shoot he has ceased his tough exercise regime and wishes he hadn't given away his old clothes.
Finally, we know what 3D is for. And no, it’s not to improve the visual aesthetic of Yogi Bear gyrating to “Baby’s Got Back” or to appreciate the subtle nuances of Seth Rogen’s Green Hornet as he destroys his living room in an all-out brawl with Kato.
3D, when done right, elevates a movie to another level and provides a nifty visual element, which adds to the experience instead of distracting. It happened (interestingly enough) last month with Justin Bieber: Never Say Never , and now it’s happened again with Carmen 3D . (Don’t look now, but that’s probably the only time Bieber and the self-proclaimed 'world’s most beloved opera' will be mentioned in the same sentence.)
The Green Hornet currently has the largest opening weekend in 2011 at $33.5 million, but after the $9.5 million Rango took in on Friday it has the potential of reaching $40 million should families support it the way they have supported Gnomeo and Juliet the last three weekends. An additional $30 million over the next two days is likely a bit out of the film's reach, as I would expect it to land somewhere around $35 million, but it's worth a mention.
How much can you really tell from a movie trailer? Will it be a small budget gem, critical success, hardly seen by anyone? A big budget financial blowout that looks like garbage, trashed by critics, but like a junky in a need of a fix, we're willing to slap down the money to see it? Hoping that it won't suck as badly as we know it will. Comic movies are no different. This year with the releases of The Green Hornet, Captain America, Thor, Green Lantern, Cowboys & Aliens and Xmen: First Class will easily be one of the best years for this genre. But with Seth Rogan's godawful take on The Green Hornet's Britt Reid (and cowriting the film) we've already hit a speed bump (I work for a movie theatre, seeing movies for free and I STILL wanted my money back. I'm not a Seth Rogan fan). With Marvel's 'in house' productions of Kenneth Branaugh's THOR with Chris Hemsworth looking every bit the God of Thunder and Joe Johnston's CAPTAIN AMERICA with Chris Evans feeling more and more like the Star Spangled Avenger every day, we don't really need the luxury we've had with trailers, interviews and behind the scenes footage to know they're in good hands. With the creative involvement of producers Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, an all-star cast and Jon Favereux at the wheel, hell's likely to freeze over if Cowboys & Aliens sucks.
Saturday, March 5th, 2011 at 9:30 am Category: Movie Serials , Movies , Top
Things are actually looking pretty good for the Hornet this week! He got a confession out of Rockford, and was on the verge of breaking another racket, all he had to face for a cliffhanger was falling out of a 2nd story window! I bet he’s none the worse for wear, and at this moment is taking a well-deserved break from crime-fighting to have a nice tea time with Kato. Nah, I’m just pulling your leg! There’s sure to be more gunplay, car chases and derring-do in Chapter 7 of The Green Hornet: Bridge of Disaster! If nothing else, I’m willing to bet even money there will be a bridge facing some kind of disaster. Let’s watch and find out!
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Seth Rogen in 2011 film “The Green Hornet” on Blu-ray & 3D May March 6, 2011 – 1:54 AM - Posted by: Justin Sluss
Tags: 3D, Blu-ray 3D, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Jay Chou, Michel Gondry, Seth Rogen, Sony, Tom Wilkinson
Tercera derrota consecutiva de los de LeBron James (125-95).- Los Lakers vencen a Charlotte (92-84) con 20 puntos y 10 rebotes de Gasol
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Now that the NBA's trade deadline has passed, it's time to look ahead to the offseason. Of course with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expiring after June, it's very difficult to project cap space, spending power and player movement.
Terms like "hard cap", "franchise tag" and "salary rollbacks" could change the picture dramatically. Additionally, the new deal may include an amnesty clause to help a team get out from under a single, bad contract (often referred to as the Allan Houston Rule in the current CBA).
Fans of Chinese martial arts films might recognize the name Chen Zen. He was first portrayed by Bruce Lee in the 1972 film Fist of Fury , also known as The Chinese Connection . He's also appeared in various TV shows, and again in film in the 1994 Jet Li film Fist of Legend . In the latest TV series he was played by Donnie Yen , and he again takes on the role for the film Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zen .
Jonathon Hanington leans on Black Beauty, the piece of Hollywood history from the movie "The Green Hornet" that he won by entering a Carl's Jr. national sweepstakes nathon Hanington was hoping, at best, to win some sort of electronic gadget when he went online and entered the code from the drink cup he bought at aCarl’s Jr.in Vancouver over the holidays.
4 dalda Oscar adayı olan 'GerçeÄŸin Parçaları', Johnny Depp'in de seslendirme kadrosunda olduÄŸu baÅŸarılı animasyon 'Rango', Kerem Alışık, Hülya AvÅŸar ve Yavuz Bingöl'ün baÅŸrolünde olduÄŸu '72. KoÄŸuÅŸ' ve romantizm ve gerilim sahneleriyle dikkat çeken 'Kader Ajanları' haftanın öne çıkanları...
Instead of a pirate, in Rango, Johnny Depp plays a chameleon, for change. Matt Damon chases love throughout the city in Adjustment Bureau. by Yami Molin | 03.04.11 Wild & Scenic Film Festival: Charlie Sheen not scheduled to appear Environmentally minded films screen at this weekend's Wild & Scenic Film Festival by Jonathan Williams | 03.03.11 Why True/False is one of the best film festivals in the world Why the True/False Film Festival is amazing. by Gabe Wardell | 03.03.11
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Daca nu esti hotarat ce sa faci in urmatoarele zile, afla recomandarile Ziare.com pentru weekendul 4-6 martie.
Bucuresti, 19:00, Tudor Gheorghe, Sala Palatului.
Bucuresti, 21:00, Al cincilea anotimp, Sala Palatului.
Bucuresti, 21:00, Circa 7, Gyuri's Pub.
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The Adjustment Bureau (2.5 stars) — The title fate-dealing organization keeps a politician (Matt Damon) and a ballerina (Emily Blunt) apart, something the politician is determined to change. PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexuality and a violent image. AMCG, DEST, FISH, HUDV, LYCE, MIDD, PALIS, PGAL, ROSV, SHOW
To play the title role in this winter's "The Green Hornet," Seth Rogen slimmed down from cuddly teddy bear to action-figure athletic. But the funnyman, 28, tells UsMagazine.com that he's ceased his superhero workouts.
"I'm slowly outgrowing all the clothes I bought last year," says Rogen. "It's a sad thing. I gave away all my fat clothes, thinking, 'I won't need these anymore,' but I do!"
OSCAR del cinema in primo piano questo mese nella programmazione del cinecircolo Celluloide al teatro dell’Osservanza. Per stasera è in calendario la proiezione di ‘The green hornet...
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OSCAR del cinema in primo piano questo mese nella programmazione del cinecircolo Celluloide al teatro dell’Osservanza. Per stasera è in calendario la proiezione di ‘The green hornet’ di Michel Gondry,
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ALL GOOD THINGS 3 stars. Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, working at the top of their games, star in this "true crime" drama about the scion of a New York real estate family suspected of killing his wife. It's a strange, thrilling tale, begrimed by bad memories, by bad deeds. 1 hr. 41 R (violence, profanity, drugs, adult themes) - Steven Rea
Visual innovator Michel Gondry made his name directing mind-bogglingly cool videos. His newest charmer is for indie supergroup The Living Sisters’ sweet single, “How Are You Doing?”
A well-oiled exercise in sentient cinema, it seems buzzier than Gondry’s last film, The Green Hornet.
Instead of Seth Rogen dropping daddy issues and flat gags, “How Are You Doing?” shows The Living Sisters‘ Inara George, Eleni Mandell and Becky Stark gamely surviving an increasingly insane series of accidents, shootouts and disasters to attend the birth of a child.
, the new documentary about the classic board game: It was put together in San Diego. Director Kevin Tostado and producer Craig Bentley are both based here, and though the film was shot in nine countries and 19 U.S. states, the post-production and editing was completed at home.
What a strange game last night. Orlando really wanted the Knicks to have it (honestly, I think we learned more about the Magic last night than the Knicks – something is seriously missing there) and our boys just couldn’t break through. But, as the great Manny Trillo once said, “The great thing about baseball basketball is you can do something about yesterday tomorrow.” Tonight the Knicks return home for the Hornets, who after winning ten in a row have lost 11 of 15 and, like the Knicks, are playing a back-to-back and third in four nights.
CHECK IT OUT. The movie listing feature at GoErie.com/events has movie times and more.
NOTE. Movie schedules are subject to change. Check Showcase movie ads and check online for last-minute changes.
Tinseltown: "The Adjustment Bureau." "Beastly." "Rango." "Take Me Home Tonight."
Movies at Meadville: "The Adjustment Bureau." "Beastly." "Rango."
I review the new TV shows, movies, and recap the episodes you missed. This is the first episode of Being Human that has really branched off from the original British series. Emily convinces Josh to go home where he has to confront the family he ran away from two years ago. With Marcus on their trail Aidan shows up crashing the Radcliff family reunion. All by herself Sally goes to warn Bridget about the kind of person Danny really is. The North American series had to branch off at some point it is going to have twice as many episodes in its first season than the UK series. So far I like that Being Human is finally becoming its own series.
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News on the Robocop reboot getting revived, Quentin Tarantino directing a Western, Charlie Sheen's Twitter account and other madness, Bryan Singer finding his Jack the Giant Killer lead and more!
Furious Movie News 03.03.11: The Craziest Charlie Sheen Edition Yet
Charlie Sheen hits Twitter, Tarantino's latest to be a Western, Robocop re-boot back on, two actors turn director plus trailers, charts and more!
tells the remarkable survival story of Aron Ralston, an avid outdoorsman who whittled off his arm to escape dying in a canyon near Moab, UT. (Sorry, if you didn’t know Ralston’s well-publicized fate, but trust me when I say you want to know what the movie has in store for you. It gets gruesome.) Recently nominated for six Academy Awards, 127 Hours is the best film of 2010 Athens had to wait until 2011 to see. THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU (PG-13) Let’s hope the newest Philip K. Dick adaptation, this one of a short story entitled “The Adjustment Team,” does the popular sci-fi author justice. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt star as a politician and a ballerina (you guess who plays what) who fall in love, only to be stymied by mysterious forces beyond their control. With John Slattery (I approve), Daniel Dae Kim (I miss “Lost”), Terence Stamp (woohoo!), Anthony Mackie ( The Hurt Locker ) and Shoreh Aghdashloo (yes!). BARNEY’S VERSION (R) TV producer Barney Panofsky (the typically infallible Paul Giamatti) reflects on his three marriages, battles with the bottle, and the mysterious disappearance of his best friend, Boogie (Scott Speedman, always remembered for “Felicity”) in this adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s last novel. Director Richard J. Lewis is not the toxic comedian; instead, he is the director of the direct-to-video James Belushi sequel, K-9: P.I. (yeah, it really exists). With Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Mark Addy, Dustin Hoffman and his son, Jake. BEASTLY (PG-13) In this modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast , a shallow Manhattanite, Kyle Kingston (Alex Pettyfer, the thankfully ignored Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker ), is cursed by a classmate, Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen). Banished to Brooklyn, he must find true love to break the spell. Fortunately, he meets Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), who might be the key to his curse. Filmmaker Daniel Barnz’s previous film was the little-seen Phoebe in Wonderland . This movie has a decidedly CW stench about it, but you never know. With Peter Krause and Neil Patrick Harris. BIG MOMMAS: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON (PG-13) FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) dons his fat suit again in the third (how can that be?) entry in the Big Momma’s House franchise. Now both Big Momma and Charmaine AKA Trent (Brandon T. Jackson) must infiltrate an all girls performing arts school to catch a murderer. Faizon Love plays Kurtis Kool, former Run-D.M.C. roadie and present school security guard that becomes smitten with Big Momma. Director John Whitesell also directed Big Momma’s House 2 . With Emily Rios, Portia Doubleday ( Youth in Revolt ) and Michelle Ang. BIUTIFUL (R) Critical darling Alejandro González Iñárritu ( Amores Perros , 21 Grams , Babel ) returns with what sounds like a Spanish-language version of Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter (not a compliment). In Barcelona, Uxbal (Javier Bardem, who won Best Actor at Cannes) struggles to be a good husband and father, while using his ability to speak to the deceased to eke out a living. Critical reaction has been mixed, with big names like Sean Penn, Werner Herzog, Guillermo del Toro and Julian Schnabel coming to Iñárritu’s defense. Nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. BLACK SWAN (R) Great does not begin to describe Black Swan nor does it do this complex film justice. Let’s call Black Swan what it is: stunning, original, another imperfect masterpiece from filmmaker Darren Aronofsky ( The Wrestler ). Aging ballerina Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) finally lands a lead as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake . But as the pressure mounts, Nina begins to suspect that the pretty new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), is out to Single White Female her. Or are her suspicions those of a raving lunatic raised by a madwoman, Nina’s mother Erica (Barbara Hershey), on the verge of utter self-destruction? Aronofsky shoots this psychosexual thriller like a Polanskian horror film. Imagine Dario Argento’s Suspiria (minus the witches and the cool Goblin score) melded with All About Eve while high on Aronofsky’s own Requiem for a Dream in the apartment from Repulsion. If you’ve already digested this dangerous film, you’re a tougher filmgoer than me; my cinematic gullet needs another viewing to grind it down into something usable. If Aronofsky ever truly perfects his craft, the celluloid might just spontaneously combust; maybe a flawed Aronofsky film is best for everybody. CEDAR RAPIDS (R) A small town lifer, Tim Lippe (Ed Helms), is sent to the annual insurance conference in the big city of Cedar Rapids, IA, where he learns the ropes from some convention veterans, led by John C. Reilly. Hopefully, Miguel Arteta can recover from the disappointing, but funny Youth in Revolt . The best gag given away in the trailer involves Isiah Whitlock, better known to “Wire” fans as Clay “Shee-it” Davis, getting in a “Wire” reference. With Anne Heche, Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, Alia Shawkat, Rob Corddry and Sigourney Weaver. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER (PG) I would really rather not return to Narnia for The Silver Chair if that’s OK with you, Twentieth Century Fox. Fox’s first entry since snatching up the rights to the popular C.S. Lewis franchise after Walt Disney dropped it, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader , hereby known as Narnia 3, continues the series’ downward spiral since the first entry, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe . Lucy and Edmund Pevensie (Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes) escape WWII England for Narnia, sans older siblings Peter and Susan, and again join forces with Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes). Nothing really works in the tedious Narnia 3, which makes this magical kingdom the least interesting fantasy world I’ve visited in some time (maybe since Eragon). A so-so hero’s quest lacks any dramatic thrust or surging narrative flow, and the Pevensies’ obnoxious younger cousin, Eustace (Will Poulter), grates until his big character transformation. By the time Aslan (v. Liam Neeson) showed up to preach a climactic homily, I was eager to return to England and see how the Blitz was progressing. CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER (R) Academy Award winning documentarian Alex Gibney (he won the Oscar for Taxi to the Dark Side but also helmed Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room , Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson , and Casino Jack and the United States of Money ) charts the rise and fall of former New York Governor and present CNN anchor Eliot Spitzer. Featuring interviews with the scandal-rocked former politico, Client 9 ’s poster claims to tell “the real story.” COUNTRY STRONG (PG-13) A TV movie with a capital TV, Country Strong boasts some likable individual parts that fail to add up. Country superstar Kelly Canter (Gwyneth Paltrow, doing all her own singin’ and accentin’, y’all) is released from rehab and goes back on the road with a singing beauty queen, Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester) and a singing cowboy, Beau Hutton (Garret Hedlund, Tron: Legacy). But the pressure of reviving her career and saving her marriage (to a slightly Ricky Gervais-ian Tim McGraw) is too much for the too brightly burning star. Nice turns by Paltrow, Hedlund, Meester (all of whom prove to have more than adequate voices) and actual country star McGraw cannot overcome writer-director Shana Feste’s awful script. The dynamics are poorly established by the back door, and the melodramatics are insincere at their best, unbelievable at their worst. Plus, where are all the paparazzi? I don’t care if this is Nashville or Austin, Canter wouldn’t be able to make a move without a gaggle of following photogs. Some nice singing and songwriting can’t save a film so unsure of who we should root for: the cheatin’ cowboy, the falling star, the vacantly pretty sensation or the emotionally broken husband. THE DILEMMA (PG-13) The Dilemma , the first comedy from director Ron Howard since 1999’s Edtv , has aspirations to be more than a silly slapstick farce. When the guy in imbroglio is played by Vince Vaughn, who is nearly always better than his chosen material, and the filmmaker is an acclaimed Oscar winner, you hope for a bit more than poorly edited, sophomoric gags. With Howard at the helm, The Dilemma delivers its share of actual human drama as Ronny Valentine (Vaughn) agonizes over telling his best friend Nick (Kevin James) that his wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder), is screwing around with a tattooed softie named Zip (Channing Tatum). An overweight plot and characterizations could be pared down to a lighter comedic weight class, yet the movie has its shoddy genre plotting. Why doesn’t Ronny just tell his loyal chef girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly) what is going on rather than lead her to believe the former gambling addict is betting again? Without that selfishly lazy plot point, Ronnie wouldn’t be able to ruin her parents’ 40th anniversary, and no one could stage a climactic intervention. The true dilemma is deciding whether to wait for this slightly above average flick on Redbox or HBO. DIRT! THE MOVIE (NR) 2009. I’ll give you three guesses what Dirt! The Movie is about. Without dirt, we wouldn’t have food, shelter, fuel, medicine, ceramics and more. You name the necessity; dirt is a key to it. Man’s relationship with the ground beneath our feet is recounted through animation, vignettes, personal accounts and good old-fashioned storytelling. Filmmakers Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow were nominated for the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize for best documentary. The screening is sponsored by the University Housing Sustainability Committee. DRIVE ANGRY 3D (R) See Movie Pick. THE EAGLE (PG-13) After August’s Centurion , Rome is all the rage, kind of. Cullman, Alabama native Channing Tatum might not bring to mind Julius Caesar but he could pull off Roman soldier Marcus Aquila, who seeks to redeem the Ninth Legion 20 years after its leader, his dad, disappeared into the Scottish mist. State of Play director Kevin Macdonald and his Last King of Scotland screenwriter that was not Peter Morgan breed a bit of hope, but the smaller, efficient Centurion will be hard to beat. With Donald Sutherland. FOR THE NEXT 7 GENERATIONS (NR) 2009. Narrated by Ashley Judd, For the Next 7 Generations documents the historic 2004 meeting of 13 indigenous grandmothers from the four corners of the globe. At this summit, these g-moms formed the aptly named International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. These ladies even scored a meeting with the Dalai Lama! Who better to save the world from destruction than your friendly neighborhood grandma? This screening, sponsored by the Institute for Women’s Studies, is the kickoff event for Women’s History Month. FROM PRADA TO NADA (PG-13) In this Latinized version of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, two spoiled little rich girls (10,000 BC’s Camilla Belle and grown-up Spy Kid Alexa Vega) move to East L.A. to live with their estranged aunt after the sudden death of their supposedly wealthy father. Co-writer Fina Torres previously wrote and directed Woman on Top with Penelope Cruz but was passed over for director Angel Garcia, who makes his feature debut. GNOMEO & JULIET (G) This backyard version of Romeo and Juliet definitely succeeds in its cuteness quotient. The two battling terracotta clans, the Reds and the Blues, contain enough distinctive-looking members. Too bad the movie doesn’t do a better job establishing this colorful retinue beyond a montage of here and there. Instead, we focus on the blossoming romance between star-crossed lovers, Gnomeo (v. James McAvoy), son of Lady Blueberry (v. Maggie Smith), and Juliet (v. Emily Blunt), beloved daughter of Lord Redbrick (v. Michael Caine). In between ceramic smooches are lawnmower races against red baddie, Tybalt (v. Jason Statham), and the silly machinations of a loopy pink flamingo (v. Jim Cummings) from an abandoned garden next door. Being a children’s cartoon, most of the true tragedy has been excised by Shrek 2 director Kelly Asbury and the eight other credited screenwriters (not including Bill Shakespeare). Save a couple of inspired supporting turns (Cummings, Ashley Jensen, Ozzy Osbourne), the voice work is as bland as the movie is cute. Gnomeo & Juliet serves its purpose, filling the computer animated family film void until Disney can release something bigger and better (i.e., something made by Pixar). THE GREEN HORNET (PG-13) More unconventional on paper than Ang Lee’s Hulk , The Green Hornet is an interesting entry in the overpopulated, same-y superhero genre. The original 1930s radio serial created by George W. Trendle begat a 1940s film serial and 1960s television program starring Bruce Lee before spawning this latest, strangest adaptation, directed by French visualist Michel Gondry ( Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ) and written by slacker star Seth Rogen and his Superbad partner Evan Goldberg. What is stranger still is that this unconventional production never really goes beyond convention, and the fun movie is no worse for it. HALL PASS (R) The Farrelly Brothers peaked in 1998. Their first three comedies: Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin and There's Something About Mary held so much promise. Their last six failed to deliver on that promise. Hall Pass is one of their weakest, i.e., least funny, movies yet. Two bumbling suburbanites—Rick (a sorely miscast Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis, who needs to get out of TV more)—are granted a week off from marriage from their gorgeous wives (Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate). Unfortunately, hilarity does not ensue. In its place, we are treated to another unnatural, demo-spanning group of "friends" and sad attempts at adding to the society's sexual lexicon. It's never a good sign when a comedy's funniest scene occurs during the credits and involves a supporting player, Ricky Gervais pal, Stephen Merchant. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 (PG-13) Me circa 2000: “I cannot wait until the new Harry Potter book. Why must J.K. Rowling torture me so? Give it to me now.” Me, two years later: “I have got to reread Chamber of Secrets before the movie opens next week. Me, 10 years later: “I didn’t realize the new Harry Potter was this week. What happened in Deathly Hallows again?” As much as I still cherish this series of books, I just have never been as invested in the film versions. That lack of true, heartfelt engagement has never shown as brightly as it does now, as the end we all know by heart approaches. I cannot find fault with this flawless penultimate installment of the stalwart franchise. The three young leads have matured tremendously as actors; Emma Watson has improved vastly since the game-changing third film. Director David Yates continues to bring Rowling’s magical world to rousing, tangible life. The landscapes of the hopeless, doomed, lonely HP7.1 resembled a post-apocalypse and conjured up the highest possible praise; it reminded me of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and The Empire Strikes Back . HEARTBEATS (NR) Twenty-one-year-old Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan writes, directs and stars in his caustic, festival-friendly films. (His last film, I Killed My Mother , won three awards at Cannes.) Two friends, Francis (Dolan) and Marie (Monia Chokri), meet Nicholas (Niels Schneider) at a party. Soon, the trio has grown quite close. When Nicholas starts to pull away, Francis and Marie begin to compete for his shrinking attentions. The general critical consensus is that Dolan has a lot of potential but remains a couple of films away from his big breakthrough. I AM NUMBER FOUR (PG-13) I Am Number Four feels like a feature film pilot for a new CW series to replace “Smallville,” whose creators, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (with help from “Buffy”’s Marti Noxon), happen to have written Number Four ’s script. A powerful orphaned alien, John AKA Number Four (stone-jawed Alex Pettyfer), is on the run from extraterrestrial hunters. With his guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant; are you watching him on “Justified?” If not, you should be), John moves to Paradise, Ohio, where he meets a girl (Dianna Agron, better known as Quinn from “Glee”) and a new pal (Callan McAuliffe). Just when he feels like he’s found a home, the alien hunters (led by the versatile villain Kevin Durand) arrive. Fortunately, so does another powerful teen-lien, Number Six (Teresa Palmer). (The numbers are the order in which these X-Terrestrials must be killed.) Mixing Superman and the X-Men with a tinge of Twilight , I Am Number Four, based on a bestselling book series cowritten under a pseudonym by James Frey (yes, THAT James Frey), probably will not reach the franchise heights to which it aspires. It would make a kick-ass CW show though. THE ILLUSIONIST (PG) A wondrous paean to Jacques Tati, Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist is a near-silent hand-drawn animated feature unlike any other you'll see this year. Its closest peer is not Toy Story 3 or Megamind but The Secrets of Kell or Chomet's own The Triplets of Belleville . A magician (a reanimated Tati or more accurately Monsieur Hulot) befriends a young girl—her age is of some debate—and works several odd jobs to give her what she needs. It's a lot less Lolita-ish than it sounds. As Americans, we are weened on cartoons dominated by manic, anthropomorphized animals and celebrity voice work. Not even the greatest Pixar film can equal the rich, foreign wonders and gentle visual humor of the French Illusionist . I don’t mean to imply The Illusionist is better than the also wonderful, definitely American Toy Story 3 ; I'm glad to live in a cinematic world with room for both. JUST GO WITH IT (PG-13) Adam Sandler is a hard guy not to like whether or not you think his movies are funny. Unfortunately, in his latest movie, he is neither likable nor funny. A plastic surgeon, Dr. Danny Maccabee, seduces women by faking that he is in a horrible marriage. When he meets a gorgeous, younger, middle school math teacher, Palmer (swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker), he decides he is ready to settle down. Unfortunately, she discovers his fake wedding band, leading Danny to concoct the least plausible, dumbest plan ever. So he can be with Palmer forever, he fakes an entire family, using his stalwart assistant, Katherine (Jennifer Aniston), and her two kids (scene stealer Madison Bailee and Griffin Gluck). I’ll let you guess what happens between Danny and Katherine once they start playing a divorcing couple. This random of mash up of bad ideas, wasted talent (Nicole Kidman, Dave Matthews, Nick Swardson) and misguidedly unfunny scenes that drag on for too long sits firmly in the bottom third of Sandler’s not exactly Oscar-worthy canon. JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER (G) Justin Bieber: Never Say Never perfectly provides the necessary ratio of hair flips, musical performances and backstage insight to stave off the most fatal symptoms of the Bieber fever raging through the world’s tweens. (According to the movie, the pandemic has now spread to men and women both older and younger.) Parents and guardians might gain some valuable insight into their child’s condition and also leave humming hideously catchy tunes like “Baby.” Step Up 2 and 3D director Jon Chu gets the most out of both the concert footage and the overplayed melodrama of Bieber’s swollen vocal cords leading up to THE BIGGEST SHOW OF HIS LIFE. You might not respect the teenage pop sensation from… shudder… Canada, but he’s damn hard not to like. Warning: appearances by Miley Cyrus and Jaden Smith might leave some adults shaking their head at the state of youth and fame in our society. THE KING’S SPEECH (R) To combat a nervous stammer, King George VI (Colin Firth), AKA Bertie, works with an unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush). Director Tom Hooper helmed HBO’s excellent “John Adams” and Elizabeth I . This historical picture is shaping up to be Firth’s best Oscar shot yet; the trailer predicts a winner. With Helena Bonham Carter as George’s daughter Queen Elizabeth II, Guy Pearce as Edward VIII, Michael Gambon as King George V and Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill. LA MEGLIO GIOVENTU (R) 2003. Winner of 19 international film awards, including six Davids and Cannes’s Un Certain Regard Award, Marco Tullio Giordana’s 366 minute epic, La Meglio Gioventu , follows the Caratti family from 1966 to 2003. Matteo (Alessio Boni) and Nicola (Luigi Lo Cascio) progress from wild young men to parents through love and tragedy. The film will be screened in multiple parts. Part of the Cincecitta' 3 Italian Film Series sponsored by the department of Romance Languages. LITTLE FOCKERS (PG-13) I can’t quite decide how I feel about this third entry in the Meet the … movie franchise. The Fockers, Greg and Pam (Ben Stiller and Teri Polo), now have a couple of kids, taking a little of grandpa Jack Byrnes’ (Robert De Niro) heat off of Greg. But with the twins’ birthday party on the horizon, old suspicions—and old pals like Teri’s ex Kevin (Owen Wilson)—are returning to haunt male nurse Gaylord Focker. Director Paul Weitz ( About a Boy ) takes over for Jay Roach, the director of the first two mega-hit comedies. THE MECHANIC (R) Jason Statham gets his Bronson on in this remake. Elite hit man Arthur Bishop (Statham) takes an apprentice, Steve McKenna (Ben Foster), under his wing. Complications arise after learning McKenna has connections to an earlier target. I really like the idea of the up-and-coming Foster as an assassin-in-training, and I’ve watched enough crap with Statham to brave another. Director Simon West knows action from his time with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Con Air , but is it the right kind? With Donald Sutherland. NO STRINGS ATTACHED (R) Could No Strings Attached be this year’s Valentine’s Day ? It does star Ashton Kutcher, is helmed by a washed-up “comedy” director (Ivan Reitman), and is really, really poorly written. Two friends (so the movie calls them despite their only having met three times), Emma and Adam (Natalie Portman and Kutcher), engage in a strictly sexual relationship that leads to love. I wish comedy writers would learn raunch is not funny for raunch’s sake alone. Raw language and sexual frankness needs to be an endemic part of the characters, not just shoehorned into a flawed romantic comedy script because it’s the hip thing to do (see Going the Distance for how to mix raunch into a standard romcom). Despite Portman’s efforts, Emma slips into unappealing Katherine Heigl-character territory (I was much more interested in Greta Gerwig’s best friend or Lake Bell’s coworker), and Kutcher continues to lose any appeal he may have once generated. A meager handful of genuine laughs are crowded out by cheap/misguided gags. Kudos also for wasting Kevin Kline, which is hard to do. No Strings Attached starts the year off with a star-studded romcom bomb, and it’s not Kate Hudson’s fault, for once. OF GODS AND MEN (NR) In a Muslim community in North Africa, eight French Christian monks (including Lambert Wilson from the latter two Matrixs and Michael Lonsdale AKA Moonraker ’s Hugo Drax) must decide whether to flee in the face of advancing fundamentalist terrorists. France’s official entry for the 2010 Best Foreign Language Oscar didn’t make the final cut. OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS (NR) Ciné brings back the popular Oscar nominated shorts, both live action and animated. This year’s live action lineup includes “The Confession,” Wish 143,” “Na Wewe,” “The Crush” and “God of Love.” This year’s animated lineup includes “Madagascar, Carnet Voyage,” “Let’s Pollute,” “The Gruffalo,” “The Lost Thing” and frontrunner “Day & Night” from Pixar. Also included are the highly commended “Urs” and “The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger.” You can’t go wrong with either set of shorts. PUSHING THE ELEPHANT (NR) 2010. Rose Mapendo lost everything in the civil war that raged in the Democratic Republic of Congo throughout the 1990s. During the struggle, Rose escaped with nine of her 10 children; five-year-old daughter, Nangabire, was left behind. After a decade-long separation, this advocate for peace and reconciliation is reunited with a teenage Nangabire, who still needs her mother to teach her how to forgive. RABBIT HOLE (PG-13) Don’t think of Rabbit Hole as the type of movie that draws out a gaggle of middle-aged women who’ll talk to one another throughout, though the devastating film will certainly accomplish that in spades. In the film adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Tony-winning play, Becca and Howie Corbett (deserving Academy Award nominee Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) are struggling to overcome the loss of their young son, Danny. Howie seeks help in group therapy with another grieving parent (Sandra Oh, “Grey’s Anatomy”); Becca finds/gives comfort with/to Jason (Miles Teller), the teenager who accidentally killed her son. Director John Cameron Mitchell ( Hedwig and the Angry Inch ) perfectly recomposes the scenes from Lindsay-Abaire’s stage play with subtle shot composition and blocking. But raw emotion, undirected angry and abject sadness rule the day through the best performance Kidman, who nearly resembles the young ingenue of Dead Calm , has given since The Hours/Dogville and Eckhart’s career high. Give me the massive, genuine, intelligent hurt felt by the Corbetts any day over the manipulative heart-wringing of most tearjerkers. RANGO (PG) Boasting a cute trailer, this animated feature from Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski stars his lead pirate, Johnny Depp, as the voice of a chameleon that wants to be a gunslinging hero. Rango must put his skills, if he has any, to the test to protect a Western town from bandits. Featuring the voices of Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Isla Fisher, Ray Winstone, Harry Dean Stanton, Stephen Root and Ned Beatty. RED STATE (R) Kevin Smith’s latest film, a horny, gory horror movie, is a bit of a change of pace. In Middle America, a small town is held hostage by Pastor Abin Cooper (Michael Parks, Kill Bill ) and his nutty, fundamentalist flock—a grotesque parody aimed squarely at the humorless Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church fame—after a group of teens accept an online invitation for group sex. Then things get bloody, really bloody. I’m excited to see Smith take on my favorite genre. With Melissa Leo and John Goodman. THE RITE (PG-13) Based on journalist Matt Baglio’s book, California priest Gary Thomas (Colin O’Donoghue) is sent to Rome by his bishop to be trained as an exorcist. While at the Vatican’s exorcism school, he encounters demonic forces, and his views on the spiritual battle between good and evil change. Director Mikael Håfström earned good reviews for his last horror movie, 1408 . Writer Michael Petroni created the short-lived NBC series, “Miracles.” THE ROOMMATE (PG-13) Sure The Roommate is a Single White Female rip-off, but moving the psychotic action to freshman year of college was a brilliant move. Too bad that’s where any brilliance the movie could have achieved ends thanks to the poor scripting prowess of first-time writer Sonny Mallhi (producer of genre efforts both successful, The Strangers , and not, Shutter and Possession ). In the dorm lottery, small town transplant Sara (a bland but beautiful Minka Kelly) is paired with native Californian Rebecca (Leighton Meester, who shows throughout the movie she’s capable of bringing oh so much more psycho), who wants to be Sara’s BFF a bit too much. Besides a couple of genuinely crazy, awful acts, Rebecca is more annoying than terrifying, and Kelly’s Sara is way too blind to her roomie’s insanity, which, thanks to the poor script, is obvious from Rebecca’s first appearance. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this crappy movie far more than I should have (how could I not with Billy Zane cast as a skeevy fashion design professor?). SANCTUM (R) What slowly starts out as the worst film of 2011 eventually settles down to be a decent, trapped in a cave genre effort. A group of cave divers led by Frank (Richard Roxburgh) are trapped far below the surface after a storm closes off their only known means of egress. Thankfully, Frank’s one badass caving vet, who will stop at nothing to get his son (Rhys Wakefield) to safety. The script, written by producer Andrew Wight and John Garvin, is based upon Wight’s similar death-defying escape from a system of underwater caves. Something tells me the cavernous Sanctum will be a lot more inviting to knowledgeable divers than to the uninitiated; half of the dialogue seemed to be spoken in a foreign, technical language. The passable 3D would go unnoticed for most of the film were it not for the constant reminder that is a pair of ill-fitting glasses. Don’t be fooled by James Cameron’s attachment; “it’s,” to quote Admiral Ackbar, “a trap.” SEASON OF THE WITCH (PG-13) As silly as the newest Nic Cage action flick is, I am shocked it did not end with the Donovan hit of the same name. Two Crusaders (Nicolas Cage and the welcome Ron Perlman) desert the papal army after being asked to slaughter thousands of innocents. While trudging across Europe, the duo are found out and tasked with transporting a witch to some monks that intend to cure the plague. The trip does not go smoothly. Cage is atypically un-cagey and pretty non-descript (despite the umpteenth variation on his action-hair). Thankfully, Perlman is so good when the movie is so bad. The undervalued Hellboy star knows exactly how to deliver a bad/obnoxious line of dialogue with utter gravitas. But not even The Perl can redeem this medieval mashup of horror, violence and one-liners. THE SOCIAL NETWORK (PG-13) 2010. By the end of this multi-focused deposition of founder Mark Zuckerberg (Academy Award nominee Jesse Eisenberg, turning his quick-witted nerdiness to steel and the Dark Side), a new asshole of an 00’s anti-hero has been born to rival the 80’s Gordon Gekko and the 90’s Hannibal Lecter. And Zuckerberg is real. Acclaimed director David Fincher may have crafted his most complete film yet. Understanding he has a razor-sharp script from Oscar frontrunner Aaron Sorkin and as many fantastic performances as a group of young actors have given since The Godfather , Fincher lets words and carefully cast actors carry the load, precisely aiming them and hitting bull’s-eye after bull’s-eye. The Social Network may not be the best film of the year when the calendar turns, but it will be damn close. TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT (R) Set over Labor Day weekend 1988, Take Me Home Tonight (every time I see the title I start singing Eddie Money in my head non-stop for at least two days) is “That 70’s Show” star Topher Grace’s pet project, nurtured to completion with that show’s creators, Jackie and Jeff Filgo. Grace stars as Matt, a video store clerk looking to impress his high school crush (Teresa Palmer, The Sorceror’s Apprentice ). The supporting cast—Anna Faris as Matt’s twin, Dan Fogler as his best buddy and Michael Biehn as his cop dad— is tough to beat. THE TOURIST (PG-13) Seeing this Angelina Jolie-Johnny Depp team-up may be cheaper than a trip to Venice, but anyone wishing to float the canals of that old Italian city would be advised to wait for discount fares. A math teacher from Wisconsin, Frank Tupelo (Depp, going morose and stiff when he should go broad and entertaining), gets involved in international espionage after being chatted up by a beautiful Brit, Elise Ward (Jolie). Soon, Frank is running across rooftops from Russian hitmen and butting heads with a determined detective from Scotland Yard (Paul Bettany, almost as sorely underused as Timothy Dalton). How’s a Wisconsin schoolteacher to survive? Your disbelief better have a suspend function that will last two hours if you expect to get through this unthrilling hokum, sadly cooked up by two exceptional, Oscar-winning screenwriters, The Usual Suspects ’ Christopher McQuarrie and Gosford Park ’s Julian Fellowes, and the Academy Award winning director of The Lives of Others , Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. As if the whole affair weren’t boring enough, these three telegraph the climactic twist so early you can’t even spend the downtime untangling the central mystery. Don’t bother with The Tourist ; let it get lost in 2010’s crowd of underwhelming movies. TRON: LEGACY (PG) Having recently reevaluated 1982’s original Tron and discovered a wide open sci-fi universe rife for pop cultural colonization, I have been looking forward to Tron: Legacy . Disney’s big budget, 3D sequel to the cult classic picks up right as game designer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) again disappears into the Grid, this time leaving his young son, Sam, behind. When an all growed up Sam (Garrett Hedlund, the upcoming Country Strong) receives a communication from his estranged dad, the younger Flynn happens upon the Grid and becomes just the revolutionary capable of dethroning the despotic Clu (Bridges, 20 years younger thanks to CGI). The trippy, all-blacklit visuals dreamed up by director Joseph Kosinski dance to the kinetic beat and rhythmic thump of Daft Punk’s excellent score (my favorite since Clint Mansell’s Fountain score), while a cadre of writers develop the virginal universe created nearly thirty years ago by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. A blue, MF’n Michael Sheen is simply a generous bonus! The insanely entertaining Tron: Legacy is the best amusement park ride/laser light show you’ll see at the movies this year. Get your light cycle to the theater before I derez you. TRUE GRIT (PG-13) To help distance their new film from the John Wayne classic, Joel and Ethan Coen are calling it a new adaptation of the novel by Charles Portis rather than a remake. A young girl (Hailee Steinfeld) hires gruff U.S. Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to help find the man who killed her father. I am quite thrilled to see Bridges’ take on Wayne’s iconic role as directed by the Coens. With Matt Damon as La Boeuf and Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney. UNKNOWN (PG-13) Liam Neeson continues his mid-career crisis with another Taken -type vehicle. In Unknown, the giant Irishman stars as Dr. Martin Harris, who suffers a traumatic brain injury in a car accident while visiting Berlin. He wakes from a four-day coma to find that his wife, Elizabeth (January Jones, “Mad Men”), does not know him and is married to another man (Aidan Quinn), who just so happens to claim he is Dr. Martin Harris. Neeson’s Martin begins to doubt his sanity until a shadowy “they” tries to kill him. Teaming with his cab driver, Gina (Diane Kruger), Martin must discover the truth behind his stolen identity. What starts as a frightening, lonely thriller loses steam before the thriller’s big reveal, which is telegraphed a bit by the presence of certain supporting characters, and totally blows the ending, which could have been tremendously interesting had Martin behaved character-appropriately. Unknown is no Taken . VANISHING ON 7TH STREET (R) Detroit residents start to disappear during a blackout. The surviving citizens (Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton, John Leguizamo and more) hole up in a tavern named “Sonny’s” as the threatening darkness approaches. The premise concocted by screenwriter Andrew Jaswinski (TV movies “Backwoods” and “Xtra Credit”) sounds very Stephen King-y, territory in which director Brad Anderson ( Session 9 , The Machinist , Transsiberian , episodes of horror anthologies “Masters of Horror” and “Fear Itself”) should be very comfortable. Early reviews have been mixed. THE WAY BACK (PG-13) Another POW escape flick à la The Great Escape and Rescue Dawn , The Way Back chronicles the efforts of several soldiers, led by the young (Jim Sturgess, 21 ), to break out of a gulag in Soviet-occupied Poland. The six companions then trek across Asia to hoped for safety in India. The great news is the film marks the return of six-time Oscar nominee Peter Weir ( Witness, Dead Poets Society, Green Card, The Truman Show and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ). The good news is Ed Harris and Colin Farrell are present to back up Sturgess, upon whom I am not yet sold. ZODIAC (R) 2007. David Fincher’s sixth feature is an overlong, not quite epic thriller about the Zodiac, a serial killer who threatened San Francisco in the 1960s and 1970s. Based on the book by Robert Graysmith, a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle , Zodiac pursues the parallel investigations of Graysmith, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and the police, led by Inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo). A refreshing new take on the serial killer thriller,
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